365 days of emerging, established and one of a kind artists

Day 64: Randi Lapham

My name is Randi Lapham. I’m the proud mother of three boys, and I live with my boyfriend and our cat Monsoon in Phoenix. I’ve been etching mirrors since 2001. I began etching mirrors and glass for friends and family just as gifts for wedding or birthdays, but as more people inquired about them, I decided to try selling to a bigger audience.

People often ask me how I etch my mirrors. A lot of methods exist, like laser etching, or sandblasting, but what I do is much more hands on. I do everything by hand, so it stays completely personal and original. I use adhesive contact paper in which I sketch the design on the mirror itself. I then carve out the design with an X-Acto knife and use acid to etch from there. This technique makes every mirror absolutely unique. Even mirrors that might have the same design would be different, with little flourishes here and there to set them apart from each other. Also, any design is possible. I specialize in pop culture characters, but I also love etching sports logos and names, too.

I have even etched photographs, and that makes what I do extra personal and special. In 2016, my dear cousin passed away, and he was like a brother to me. For members of my family I etched his portrait on a mirror, and seeing his likeness alongside our own reflections made his memory even more powerful.

I’m always taking commissions and I sell pre-etched mirrors for comic cons and art shows all over Arizona. I’ve set up at Phoenix Comicon’s FanFest, at Cottonwood’s Verde Valley Comic Expo, and at YumaCon, just to name a few. You can see logos I’ve etched for local businesses at Bonus Round and Drawn to Comics. It makes me happy to know that people enjoy what I do and that I can make things specifically for them. Mirrors are really the best media for seeing yourself in art!